#574524 git-status: please use a pager

Package:
git
Source:
git
Description:
fast, scalable, distributed revision control system
Submitter:
Jonathan Neuschäfer
Date:
2010-07-14 20:57:13 UTC
Severity:
wishlist
#574524#5
Date:
2010-03-18 20:01:55 UTC
From:
To:
Please make git status use a pager, as (almost) any other command does.
#574524#10
Date:
2010-03-18 20:19:34 UTC
From:
To:
tags 574524 + upstream
thanks

Hi,

Jonathan Neuschäfer wrote:
hate it.  See:

http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/80279
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/80957
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/85725
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/89428

Workaround:

 echo '[pager] status = true' >> ~/.gitconfig

See git-config(1) for details on the configuration mechanism.

If you have ideas or solid arguments beyond “I prefer this way” for
improving the current situation, I’d recommend sending them directly to
git@vger.kernel.org, cc-ing me.

Still, thanks for the report, and hope that helps,
Jonathan
#574524#15
Date:
2010-03-18 20:27:44 UTC
From:
To:
Jonathan Nieder wrote:

 git -p status -s

instead of “git status”.  In addition to paginating, this uses a more
concise format, which might be helpful if your ‘git status’ output
tends to span many pages.

Tips (or patches!) for making these features easier to find in the
documentation would be especially welcome.

Cheers,
Jonathan
#574524#22
Date:
2010-03-18 20:43:30 UTC
From:
To:
Okay, I understand.
Cool, works.
Nothing more than `I don't like {scrolling back,piping through the pager} maually'

Jonathan
#574524#35
Date:
2010-07-14 20:55:05 UTC
From:
To:
tags 574524 + wontfix
quit

Jonathan Neuschäfer wrote:

Some thoughts on how to fix this:

Basically, the pager needs to work as well as no pager.

1. ‘less’ does not support mouse wheel scrolling[1].  So muscle memory
   from the scrollback buffer fails for some people.

2. Setting $LESS without -X (which is common) puts paginated output
   at the bottom of the screen and makes it disappear when ‘less’
   closes.  For git that is almost always wrong, but it is not obvious
   to newcomers how to fix.

   The user manual and git(1) page ought to explain it.

Then nobody would have reason to mind if the default changes again.
Marking this bug as wontfix because I don’t see it happening soon.

You too.

Thanks again for your help.
Jonathan

[1] less bug #272: http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/bugs.html#enhance
Though apparently it works in some setups[2].
[2] http://bugs.debian.org/565699